Wonderful News and I'm Nervous

I feel like the roadrunner today. Driving and running all around, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and back through all three states again and yet what have I accomplished? The countdown is on.

An invitation came for me to show my art and sell it in Virginia. Now I can hardly sit still and our westie puppy thinks I have turned into a human form of westies. Such as... easily excited, why, why, why walk when you can run, rarely sleeping. You get the idea. More to come soon.

Bathing and Painting Westie Dogs

Lots of bathing going on with our westie boy. Living in the country has it's challenges with a bright white (after bathing) westie.

I did this oil painting of him from a photograph I took looking down at him after he was combed out. He tends to get tangles and little pieces of pine and fir trees in his hair. He has the look saying, "Are you finished with that dryer yet?"

He loves the brushing and combing, but gets a little annoyed at the dryer. It's always on the lowest setting, but the noise is unnerving after a few minutes. (They can make almost silent dishwashers when will the hairdryers be almost silent?) By the time I am finished he looks like a white fluffy summer cloud!

For sale on ebay.

Girls Fairy Land Art and Painting

It happens when it's cool and foggy outside. It's the kind of magic scene that reminds me of fairies. The softest, sweetest, innocent fairies. The colors of fog are many depending on the time of day and season. That must be why I love the dreamy look.

I'm making a grouping of these candyland colored girl fairies. (I guess you could call them wedding colors, too.) Here is the second painting. Prints are for sale on etsy.

Can you believe I have not been out shopping yesterday or today? I'm here on the farm playing with my son.

Art Saves Mixed Media

Art has helped many people to overcome obstacles. It works as therapy. It makes you feel good to create.

The above mixed media I did to honor Jenny Doh. I admire her generosity in the art community. I admire her website where she brings artists together to learn and to share. I admire her "do good" attitude.

I'll translate this painting a bit. Teacher has put up scrambled letters on the chalkboard and told the children to make two words out of them that have a special meaning. Little Jenny came up with art saves which teacher chose as the winning combination.

Now here is the tricky part. I didn't arrange the letters perfectly across the top because as an artist we all struggle with BALANCE. For me balancing family, farm and making art. You can also make two other words with the same art saves letters:

"Starves a"

As in... starves a... relationship. So balance is just as important as art is in saving. It's all about keeping everything in the right order.

I have a print up for sale on etsy.

Happy Thanksgiving Day

I am thankful for loving family.

I am thankful for friends.

I am thankful for westies.

Most of all I'm thankful for God who remembers me.

Extreme Chippy

I love this bench even though it's a bit rusty. It's still sturdy, and beautiful to me. A great place to read a book in the dappled shade or sneak a tasty baked crumpet. Even a place to rest your body while your mind continues to dream.

This poor chippy white house needs some loving. I had to stop along the road and take a picture of it. I try to imagine a happy family living here at one time with a fire in the fireplace and bread or cookies baking in the oven. I wonder how many years this home has been vacant? It is not close by, in fact, it is in Southern Virginia outside of a town called Tappahannock. Wouldn't it be great if it came back to life again. For now it's only company is a beehive and a round haybale. If this house could talk I would be listening.

Do stop by Faded Charm for lovely white wednesday photographs. Probably none so sad as this deserted home.

Watercolor ACEO and Colored Pencil Art

Rainy days always make you want to try something new. It happened to me and this is the result of my little watercolors and colored pencils. I normally paint with acrylics on a black background to get that block print look. This is the reverse on a white background and I immediately fell in love with watercolors. They're a bit more illustrative with darling color washes. I do believe I am hooked. Line and sinker. Kit and kaboodle.

These wee paintings each measure 2.5 by 3.5 -inches. The group consists of a girl and her westie, Frida Kahlo, Siamese Cat, and Raccoon. They are up for sale on etsy now.

Boxwood Swirls and Twirls Art

I tilled our vegetable garden today and it looks like a blank brown canvas. There is something about the smell of freshly tilled soil that jolts your gardening dreams into high gear. Something tells you that seeds or cuttings need to go into it.I have always wanted to look out a high window onto a knot garden. This week I'm going for it.

My outdoor pots are all of a sudden barren since the frosts took the annuals. Now is when I poke cuttings down into them and wait to see how many take root and find new homes next spring.

White Wednesday Bird

This wool felt bird watches out my window on a nest that fell after a storm. She looks cozy and it looks like she made it just her size. She is content just to sit there and look beautiful.





Sometimes she likes the company of other white fuzzies like this yarn.




She also likes these dainty cookies and tries to hide behind the fern leaf.

Do stop by faded charm cottage for lovely white decorating and gorgeous photographs.

Scandinavian Mixed Media Westie Scottie Paintings

These colors are so soft and sweet like new fallen snow. I lightened up in my colors in these two mixed media originals and I feel like I am in Europe with the brightest lights and soft pastels. But I'm really here in Maryland at 44 degrees and no snow on the ground...yet! See the westie racing down the hill. That is exactly what our westie does when our son sleds. They have energy and then some. Both little boys and westies.




I put westie's cousin, Scottie, in this painting. A sweetheart. Karina is ice skating in Sweden! We are going around the globe here. Both of these will be on ebay for sale. 5 by 7 inches each and on stretched canvas with collage papers and acrylic paint. Pink colors are so restful and calm.

Frida Kahlo Black Boot Club Art

Frida always wore black boots and found some other friends who did too. These red foxes became friends and started the Black Boot Dance Club. Look around you for your friends. When you were little didn't you and your brothers and sisters or some neighbor kids have a few clubs going? The Make it Yourself Club, the Stitching Club, and I forget some of the other ones. It didn't matter if it was 4 members or 2 members it was still fun!

I painted this one with the fall colors around me. I've noticed that even on cloudy days the fields are still radiant color like they are glowing from within!

Black Boots Club is up on ebay for sale with free shipping in the us. Details here.

ACEO OIL BABY FLUFF KITTEN Canvas

TINY PINK NOSE

Little kittens have the sweetest expressions. They almost fall over when they look up at you. We call this nose pink even though it has a little grey on it. Kittens noses are for kissing just like our westie dog's nose.

These small size original paintings are affordable and a great way to collect paintings for a little bit of nothing even though all of the same rules apply to composition, color, etc. Sometimes the small ones take almost as long as my bigger ones. So you get all of the same effort and work in a smaller package. It kind of sounds like I am promoting diamonds here. They are small jewels ...the animals, that is, that I paint.

For sale on ebay here.

Town and Country Gentleman - Westie Art

Most days my westie dog is the perfect gentleman. He looks handsome in a black bow tie with his football linebacker neck. He loves his gardens and protects them...soaks up the sun and scents in calm and quietness...most days. The only time he loses his graceful calm is when he hears foxes yipping...and when he smells peanut butter. Other wise he is a perfect Country Gentleman.

This large 16 x 20-inch paintng is up for sale on ebay now.